I'm pretty sure he means that, given the large amount of film types, film speeds, etc., that there is no EASY way to answer. He stated he is at work and will give you his recommendations a bit later. Jeff can shoot a mean picture; he will have sound advice.

I wouldn't look to eBay for buying film. You won't have any way of knowing how it's been stored. Try clicking the Freestyle link at the top of the page here, or B&H at the bottom. Great companies and they'll have anything in stock that Jeff could recommend.

I've used Ilford B&W films, Kodak TMax and Tri-X, and have had great results from them all.

Different films are better for different things. A lot depends on the developing and the printing. Even the same type of film may vary from time to time or place to place.

Picking your lab can be just as important as picking your film.

I suggest going to your local photo lab and use the film that they sell there. You will probably get better prints if the lab is familiar with the film you shoot.

The different ISO levels you are seeing, is the sensitivity of the film. ISO 50 or 100 is slow film...best for bright sunlight or when using a tripod. ISO 400 is mid to fast film...good for all around stuff but not as crisp as 100 film. ISO 800 film is fast film...used for sports or action...or lower light situations when you can't use flash. Faster film will have more grain, so the photos won't look as sharp.

The best thing you can do, is to try different things. It takes a while to really figure out what you like and what works for you.

thanks for the help guys! i am going to go to my local photographer shop and buy some of the contrasty ilford pan f. i like the idea of deep blacks and pale whites as it is what b&w should be about. i amnt too much a fan of b&w when it is impeccable quality and accuracy. if you know what i mean...

For B&W the big question is how and where you will get the film developed. There are two main types of B&W film the first is the traditional films about 98% fall in this group. The second are the C-41 B&W process films.

If you go with a traditional film my guess is that you are not really to process it yourself. So you will need to find a lab that still does traditional B&W. So hopefully it with not need to be mail it out for processing. You may need to learn how to process it. Or go with the C-41 films, this is the same process that is used for color film at your local mini-lab.

Ilford XP2 and Kodak BW400CN are the only two current C-41 B&W films on the market. But old stock of other types may still be for sale. Kodak is said to be better for making prints with color paper and Ilford with B&W paper. Personally I mostly use Ilford, just old habit.

With the traditional B&W films really not sure witch one I would recommend because I don&#8217;t use the major brand unless I get them on sale. Right not I have a few rolls of ilford fp4 that I got on sale. It has nice dark blacks IMO. But most of the time I use the hard to find Efke/Adox KB25 or KB100, so that not a lot of help to you.

First off, do you understand and know the relationship between film speed (ISO) and exposure (shutter speed and aperture) ? If not, read and study and understand, it's all very simple. If you don't understand this, you probably won't get very far because you won't understand what's going on.

That said, if you already do know and understand this, disregard the above paragraph. I'd recommend just starting with cheap Kodak color film. If and when you get into black and white and black and white developing, I'd recommend Ilford HP5+ as this has been a very easy film to develop in my experience.